What explodes, but doesn't burn?

 How do you turn an ordinary soda bottle into fragments like these?!?



Well, you use this:
 



And you do this:
 



For a video (cheesy editing, huge [23mb] file, but fun!) of what happens next, follow this link (update: corrected the url, sorry!)

And for more fun with liquid nitrogen, YouTube has a bunch of other videos (a bowl of it dumped in a swimming pool, and exploding watermelon, etc!)

Fun with N2!

 Cam needed a really good interference-fit for a project, so he bored a hole .0015" under the shaft size, and heated the plate up to 250F -- no chance (at 65 millionths per degree per inch, he needed more degrees!)
 


So he picked up a few litres of liquid nitrogen down at the welding store, and soaked the shaft for a while, then slipped it easily into the hole, where it's formed one heck of a bond ("Why didn't you just weld it?!?")!
 


Much to his (and our) disappointment, this resulted in quite a bit of leftover nitrogen, which was slowly returning to its normal room-temperature gaseous state. There seemed little choice but to perform some very serious scientific research, starting with hot dogs (the pieces, after a gentle tap, have the oddest sound -- like the polishing pellets in a metal tumbler!), and moving on to a small flower.
 With those tests complete, we were left with only dangerous and quite possibly explosive research on the bursting strength of a 20-ounce plastic soda bottle.

I don't have time to upload the resulting video, so stay tuned for further details -- and kids, don't try this at home! 

A bit more Peter Pan

 Some more pics from Peter Pan -- it was a really impressive show, underscoring the amazing variety of professionally-presented shows that the Arts Festival brings to Springfield (for the 40^th year!)
 


Ben was really great, too, and not simply because he's my nephew -- his delivery was well-paced, and his "But I even brushed my teeth" was hysterical!
 
  

The Woods

 I really loved these woods back behind the ol' homestead -- they weren't quite perfect, so I had to make a few adjustments. Some cleats on the old oak, sure, that makes sense -- those branches were just too high to reach!


 However . . . I cannot quite defend my decision to slip an old tire over the top of a young hickory tree! At least I can stop by every few decades and make sure that the tire isn't binding . . . yet. 

Lake Wilson (neê Thistle Creek)

 It's kind of hard to picture this covered in snow and ice, but if you look carefully, you can imagine the water beneath the ice slowly stealing away, letting the ice sink gently to the earth leaving a gradual slope.
 
A few more shots of the fields as they cease being Veloped . . . !
 
  

Happy Pooch!

 When you get right down to it, you just can't get much happier than this!
  

Brown's Reservoir

 We finally took time to check out Buck Creek State Park, which contains the largest body of water 'round the Yellow Springfield area. It was quite impressive, with plenty of wind to do a little sailing, a nice stretch of beach, and water that's nearly as pretty as Canandaigua Lake. It has plenty of room for powerboats, as well as lots of shallow small-boat only areas, so there needn't be any conflict. 
 
  

Ohio Mulberries

It was high season for Mulberries when we were back in Ohio -- even the Holiday Inn where we were staying had plenty available! 
 
 


Obviously, some are too tasty to leave out where the unwashed masses can partake -- but this fence seems like a bit of overkill . . . .
  

Peter & Ben Pan

Just a few shots of the Ohio Lyric Theatre's production of Peter Pan, starring my schoolmate Jo Frannye as Peter, and our nephew Ben as Nibs! 
It always seems like the Pirates are having the most fun, from the ones in Penzance to these . . . swashbuckling must just be extra fun. 
 
  

Our Winter Home

I remember loving Winter.

I used to get all excited about going out to the snowdrifts out by the creek and tunnelling for hours, skating downhill on Lake Wilson (which froze, then drained, leaving a fun ice-saucer!), and so on.

But I just don't have any of that left -- I'm not sure why, but maybe the everlasting Narnia-like winters of Rochester have something to do with it!

Whatever the cause, I have to admit that our little Honeymoon Cottage sure looks nice with a bit of fresh powder on the yews! 

Trial by flour . . . !

Dar took some pics of me suffering through kneading bread -- in this case, our first loaf of sourdough, a white-flour by-the-book to see if it was working. It was really painful; I don't know why it feels so yucky to me, but I'm hoping a concentrated effort will diminish the effect through persistant repetition. 
 
 



I have to admit, the final results are worth just about any amount of torture!  

Valentine's Day!

I managed to sneak some rose petals in to surprise Dar -- but Willie was even quicker, giving me just time to snag this great shot before she came back! 



Luckily, he managed somehow to be cute enough to just add to the effect, and got a big hug for his efforts!  

Lamberton Conservatory

Towards the end of winter, life gets pretty bleak around here -- clear skies are a rarity, so outdoors is like a gray-on-gray abstract painting . . . ! Here's Willie out for a walk . . .  


. . . just before we got to head inside to where things are warm and bright! I particularly love the Economic Plants section, full of citrus trees, Cassava, Coffee, Avacado, and so on. The scent of the citrus blossoms is absolutly delightful, and never more welcome than at the end of winter!